THE HAGUE--The fifty per cent reduction in tuition for the first year at Dutch universities and institutions of higher vocational learning HBO also applies to students from the Dutch Caribbean.

The Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science OCW confirmed this on Tuesday. Once the First and Second Chambers of the Dutch Parliament have approved the change to the law to facilitate the reduction in tuition (“collegegeld”), new students will pay half of the current fee for the next 2018-2019 academic year.

The Dutch Government decided earlier this year to cut tuition for higher education in half for the first academic year to make studying more attractive. Students at teacher training (pedagogy) institutes will even enjoy this benefit for the first two years to stimulate more people to study for a job in education.

Members of the Democratic Party D66 asked Minister of Education, Culture and Science Ingrid van Engelshoven whether the discount would also apply to students from the Dutch public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba who are taking up their studies in the Netherlands after the summer.

The Minister replied on Tuesday that the discount also applied to students from these islands, just as it does to students from the Netherlands. It was clarified that students from Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten would also be entitled to this discount when they came to the Netherlands to start their studies at an institution of higher learning.